IT IS 1am and the bar is still full. The queue to buy a drink is half-a-mile long and the noise is deafening.

But this is not a nightclub, this is the hotel bar during the Labour Party conference. And the noise is not courtesy of some DJ pumping out the latest tunes but the party faithful still avidly debating the merits of the speeches of the day.

Having been plied with free wine all night at fringe events, the volume rises yet further as a senior politician is seen entering the room. Subtly, people start moving, hoping to intercept him as he makes his way across the floor.

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There is a lot of hand-shaking and back-slapping before the politician disappears into the night, leaving star-struck delegates to get back to discussing the issues. This is exactly what conference is about. Not drinking too much and talking rubbish into the early hours (although there is always a certain degree of both) but giving the party faithful an unprecedented chance to rub shoulders with their political idols.

This year there is one politician they are desperate to see: new leader Jeremy Corbyn. He is being heralded as the saviour of the Left after pulling off a seemingly impossible coup, all the more remarkable as he achieved it with virtually no support from the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Yet while many of the party’s grassroots members are raising their glasses in celebration at his victory, there are plenty of others, including Labour MPs, drowning their sorrows and wondering what has become of their party. It is this gaping chasm between the incoming new Old Labour administration and the old New Labour guard that promises to make this week’s conference the most colourful in decades.

The big challenge will be whether Corbyn can bridge this divide and find ways of working with his opponents, especially those within the Parliamentary party. But with the party at war with itself, trade unions demanding renationalisation of the railways, a hostile press and a determination among the Conservatives to portray Corbyn as a national security threat, it won’t be an easy task.

The big challenge will be whether Corbyn can bridge this divide and find ways of working with his opponents, especially those within the Parliamentary party

The new leader faces trouble on a number of fronts… not least from his own supporters. Known affectionately as the “Corbynistas” they were described by one columnist last week as the “most sensitive politicos of recent years”. Furious at anything that appears to attack or question their leader, abusive trolling is their hobby and they use it against anyone who dares to disagree with them.

While they will find many kindred spirits at conference they are bound to come across some people who are not so forthright in their support of Corbyn – not least from those who fear his victory could see the party out of power for decades. But aside from the potential for fisticuffs among activists, Corbyn will also face a fight to develop his own narrative.

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Corbyn might face 'a little' hostility from MPs who are unhappy with his leadership

Although he has appointed members of his campaign team to his Shadow Cabinet, his front bench also includes seasoned politicians far more experienced than he in the cut and thrust of political debate.

Already Corbyn has been forced to contradict his shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith over his commitment to scrap the welfare cap and he should be prepared to see further challenges during conference when a number of issues, including Trident and Nato membership, will be debated. His leadership skills will also come under the spotlight on Tuesday when he delivers his first leader’s speech to conference.

There is a world of difference between addressing a fair-trade co-operative in Islington and the party faithful in Brighton, where he will be talking to at least 2,000 people plus the millions who tune in to the TV news. He’ll need to improve on his acceptance speech and his TUC speech, both of which were rambling and lacked focus.

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Corbyn's speech could hardly be worse than Ed Miliband’s last year...

However, his speech could hardly be worse than Ed Miliband’s last year when he forgot key passages and introduced the party to Josephine, Elizabeth, Colin and who could forget Gareth, the software engineer he bumped into on Hampstead Heath?

Instead Corbyn is more likely to pay homage to Karl (Marx), Keir (Hardie) and his old mate Tony (Benn) before concluding with the Red Flag, the party’s anthem that was abandoned under Tony Blair. While it is likely that Corbyn will receive a hero’s welcome from many delegates, others will point to dire opinion polls, which show that in the eyes of the country he is still very much on probation and the revelry could soon be dampened by the sobering realities of the real world.